| Fifteen | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Beverly Cleary |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | First Love |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Publication date | Steptember 1, 1956 |
| ISBN | 0688312853 |
| OCLC Number | 429362334 |
Fifteen is a juvenile fiction novel written by Beverly Cleary. It was first published in 1956. It chronicles the perspective of a teenage girl entering her first romantic relationship. The book captures the innocent spirit of life in the 1950s, both through the playfully light storyline and the casual references to convertibles, sweaters, "meeting boys", and soda shops. Regardless, the book remains in print today because its overall theme of difficult adolescent feelings still connects with young readers.
Jane Purdy is a 15-year-old student at Woodmont High School in California. She dreams of having a boyfriend like blonde, popular, and sophisticated 16-year-old Marcy Stokes has. Jane feels somewhat left out of social circles at her high school, and envies the more popular girls who go out on dates, seem more confident and wear more expensive clothes.
One day while babysitting, she meets 16-year-old Stan Crandall, who is a delivery boy for a pet-food store. Jane is immediately attracted to Stan, although she does not believe that he will be attracted to her as she forgets to pretend to be sophisticated during their brief encounter. However, Stan calls her later, and asks her out on a date. The two go on several dates, including to Chinatown for dinner with other couples, which turns out to be a fiasco for Jane, because while Stan and the other teens wolf down the various exotic delicacies with unbridled gusto, Jane can't identify a single dish and she spills food on her new blouse.
Jane finds out that Stan is taking another girl to the school dance. Jane's friend Julie finds out that Stan is taking a girl named Betsy (Bitsy). Jane is extremely upset but it turns out that Stan asked Bitsy to the dance before he met Jane and he feels he cannot break the date now even though he is not attracted to Bitsy.
Jane and Stan's relationship fluctuates throughout the book. Jane constantly analyses her status with Stan, worrying about whether she's ready to date someone without scaring him off. After another outing, Jane takes Stan's unusually quiet and detached behavior as a sign that he's tired of her, but later she learns that he is sick with appendicitis.
In the end, Stan reassures Jane that she's his girlfriend, and gives her his ID bracelet as a symbol that they are going steady.
Jane Purdy: Jane is 15-years-old. She is a brunette with curling hair, which she finds childish compared to Marcy's blonde hair. She is happy and surprised to meet Stanley Crandall and start a relationship with him. She constantly worries about her relationship. Jane gets her money by babysitting. She describes herself as an ordinary girl with nothing special. She doesn't like Marcy but is friends with Greg. While dating Stan, she has become much more popular and has vowed to confident. Jane is a sophomore at her high school.
Stanley "Stan" Crandall: Stan is 16-years-old and works at the Doggie Diner. He had recently moved to Woodmont and soon starts a relationship with Jane, and tells her he thinks she's different from most girls. Their relationship is strained for a short period of time, but in the end, he assures her that everything is OK before kissing her. Stan has brown hair and green eyes. He's a junior at his high school.
Julie: Julie is Jane's amply contoured best friend. She has freckles on her face. She goes to the dance with Buzz, starting a possible relationship. She's also a sophomore and 15-years-old like Jane.
Marcy Stokes: Marcy is 16-years-old and the ultimate "guys girl" or as Jane puts it "the cashmere sweater type" (the latest high school trend at their school). She has blonde hair which she always tosses in front of boys, and Jane to make her feel uncomfortable. Marcy likes to make Jane feel little and takes any chance to embarrass her. Although she is dating Greg, she is jealous of Jane's relationship with Stan.
Buzz Bratton: Buzz is an inch shorter than Jane and Julie, even though he is a junior and 16-years-old. He likes Jane and even kisses her, making Stan angry. When Jane and Buzz were in middle school, he would tackle her and steal her baking. He is very reluctant about his relationship with Julie, possibly because he likes Jane not Julie.
Gregory "Greg" Donahoe: He's 16-years-old and Marcy's boyfriend. He seems to be good friends with Jane and Stan.
Mr. Purdy He is Jane's father. He is two years younger than his wife. He enjoys his begonia garden and his cat.
Mrs. Purdy: She is Jane's 40-year-old mother and extremely overprotective. Jane dislikes how she never wears stockings on her bare legs.
Mr. Nibley: Mr. Nibley is the owner of the popular Nibley's Ice Cream Parlor. He thinks Jane is 11-years-old.
Betsy "Bitsy": She's Stan's former girlfriend who is short and makes fun of Stan's job.
Sandra Norton: Is 8-years-old and the brattiest girl in all of Woodmont. She has a mother who pays lots of money when people babysit her monster child. Sandra and her family are from France, and she likes Julie better than Jane.
George: He has a major crush on Jane. He's two inches shorter than Jane. He's 15-years-old and a sophomore. George carries his money in a purse and is obsessed with science and is about as romantic as a math test.
Tom Tom is Stan's friend from his old school. He works in Chinatown.
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